Andrew Hammond and the Ottawa Senators are headed to Minnesota to take on the Wild with a 5 game win streak on the line as they make the most of this current road trip.
Ottawa: 27-23-10
Minnesota: 33-22-7
8:00 PM EST
Xcel Energy Center
Saint Paul, Minnesota
TV: TSN 5; Radio: TSN 1200
MATCH-UP HISTORY
The last time these two clubs met the Senators managed to get the better of the Wild and cap the night off with a 3-0 shutout victory. Clarke MacArthur scored the game winner, but Ottawa won’t be able to count on him to continue any trends as he is still out with a concussion.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Andrew Hammond – How could it be anyone else? He’s been stellar since getting the call to the Big Leagues, going undefeated in all 5 of his starts with some pretty sterling numbers to go along with it. He’s already bested Jonathan Quick, so it’ll be interesting to see how he deals with his duel with Dubnyk.
Devan Dubnyk – He’s pretty much the only reason that Minnesota even has a sniff at the playoffs, and ever since they picked him up he’s been nothing less than stellar. Ottawa’s going to have to get in the way of his 6’6” frame and not allow him to properly track the puck if they hope to get many by him.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Get in front of Dubnyk: in a recent interview NHL.com Dubnyk attributed his career’s renaissance to a new goaltending method that emphasizes better head movement when tracking pucks so that the rest of his body will be in better position. Ottawa’s forwards are going to have to get in his way and get his head off balance to score some gritty goals if they want to stay in this one.
2. Hammond Keeps Burgling: Minnesota has excellent depth throughout their lineup, so Hammond is likely to be tested by all four lines that the Wild will roll. He’s going to have to keep up the thievery to keep his streak alive.
3. Hoff is the Man: Not so much a legitimate key to the game, but the way he’s been playing lately, and with they dynamism he’s got, expect Mike Hoffman to find himself on the scoresheet in this one after registering 2 goals and an assist against the Sharks.
PROJECTED LINE-UPS
I’m posting this early, so I’ll put the line-up that was used against San Jose. Tonight’s lineup shouldn’t be drastically different, but it will be interesting to see if Dave Cameron opts to re-insert Jared Cowen now that his suspension has been lifted.
SENATORS:
FORWARDS
Mike Hoffman – Mika Zibanejad – Bobby Ryan
Milan Michalek – Kyle Turris – Mark Stone
Colin Greening – David Legwand – Alex Chiasson
Erik Condra – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Matt Puempel
DEFENCE
GOALIES
Andrew Hammond
SCRATCHED: Robin Lehner (concussion), Jared Cowen (was suspended), Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Chris Neil (thumb surgery), Chris Phillips (wear), Curtis Lazar.
WILD:
FORWARDS
Sean Bergenheim – Mikko Koivu – Thomas Vanek
Zach Parise – Mikael Granlund – Jason Pominville
Nino Niederreiter – Charlie Coyle – Jordan Schroeder
Erik Haula – Kyle Brodziak – Justin Fontaine
DEFENCE
Marco Scandella – Matthew Dumba
Nate Prosser – Christian Folin
GOALIES
Devan Dubnyk
SCRATCHED:
Keith Ballard, Matt Cooke, Jason Zucker, Ryan Carter, Jared Spurgeon